AP File PhotosIf Tom Izzo reaches out to Rick Pitino for advice on whether he should give the NBA a shot, the Louisville coach will tell his friend to slow down before he ruins the good thing he has going at Michigan State.

Tom Izzo and Rick Pitino are good friends.

But as of Wednesday night, Michigan State's head coach hadn't reached out to his counterpart at Louisville for advice on taking a coaching gig in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Sports Illustrated, June 9: "My advice to him would be, if you're really happy where you are, then it doesn't make any sense to mess with happiness," Pitino said. "Happiness is more important than money. Happiness is more important than a new challenge. Also, you're on the threshold of making the Hall of Fame. If he called me, I'd tell him, 'Tom, put yourself in a seat belt and stay at Michigan State.'"

There's no doubt Izzo is using his long list of sources for due diligence about a possible move, but Pitino's career seems particularly relevant.

His resume is sprinkled with a couple of head coaching stints in the NBA – with the New York Knicks, from 1987-1989 and with the Boston Celtics, from 1997-2001.

While he saw success guiding a Knicks team led by Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing to a 90-74 record over two years, it was a different story in Boston.

First, though, he followed up the Knicks gig by spending eight years at helm in Kentucky. During that time, Pitino's record was eerily Izzo-like: 219-50 overall (104-28 SEC), five conference titles and five trips to the Elite Eight, including a national title, runner-up and another Final Four berth.

But the Celtics lured Pitino away with a $50 million contract and the strong likelihood of getting Wake Forest center Tim Duncan – widely considered to be the best player in the draft that year. It was a chance to turn around the proud franchise.

Things didn't go as planned, though. Boston wound up with the No. 3 and No. 6 overall picks, with which they took future Detroit Pistons star Chauncey Billups, and Ron Mercer, who Pitino coached at Kentucky.

Duncan went on to win four NBA titles with the San Antonio Spurs, while Pitino struggled to a 102-146 mark in less than four seasons on Boston's sideline.

Not even 50 at the time he left the Celtics, Pitino returned to the college ranks with Louisville and has seen a steady level of success over nearly a decade with the Cardinals.

Izzo finds himself in much the same situation: successful college coach at one of the best basketball programs in the nation gets huge contract offer from an NBA team that offers the chance – but not the guarantee – of coaching one the game's top young players.

Considering his experience, if Pitino could stress one thing, it's for Izzo to make sure he doesn't go on what Davis calls a fool's errand.

"If he takes over Cleveland without LeBron, he's going to end up back in college like the rest of us," Pitino said.